Juan Cole: Romney's Major Flip-Flops in the Third Debate

http://www.juancole.com/2012/10/romneys-major-flip-flops-in-the-third-debate.html

Romney’s Major Flip-Flops in the Third Debate

Published on October 23rd, 2012
Written by: Juan

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On the Egyptian Revolution

Romney said:

“But once it exploded, I felt the same as the president did, which is these — these freedom voices in the — the streets of Egypt where the people who were speaking of our principles and the — the — President Mubarak had done things which were unimaginable, and the idea of him crushing his people was not something that we could possibly support.”

But on Feb. 1, 2011, Romney had refused to call Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak “a dictator:”

VIDEO AT LINK

So during the uprising Romney avoided the word “dictator,” but now he admits that Mubarak had done things that were unimaginable (i.e. dictatorial things?)

Verdict: Flip-Flop

Romney said Monday, “We don’t want another Iraq."

He said it in the context of diplomatic efforts to convince Muslims to abandon radicalism. He seems to be admitting that the Iraq War was an error.

But in 2003, Romney supported the Iraq War.

If Romney views the Iraq War has having been about religious extremism, he should be reminded that the Baath regime in Iraq, horrible as it was, was a secular nationalist one that repressed religious fundamentalism.

Verdict: Flip-flop.

REST AT LINK[p]